-LIGHT, 9 January 1953 45
2,000-MILE
REPAIR JOB
From England to the Lebanon
for a Salvage Operation
THE existence of an efficient salvage and repair organi zation for aircraft is, in this country, generally taken for granted. The occasional sight of damaged aircraft
being carried away on "Queen Mary" trailers for repair
reflects the large amount of preliminary study and work put
in by the recovery teams of the firms engaged on this specialist
service. Although a number of aircraft salvage operations
have been carried out on the Continent by British firms, few
salvage jobs are normally performed at very long distances
from the companies' bases. One exception to this general
rule occurred just over a year ago, and it provides a story of
unusual interest.
The aircraft was a Misrair Viking iB, SU-AFM, which had
been flying on a scheduled service to Beirut, Lebanon, on
August 4th, 1951. A major hydraulic defect caused a crash
landing to be made near Khalde Airport, and the aircraft was
severely damaged. It appeared at the time that the Viking was
beyond the limits of economic repair.
The British company interested was Field Aircraft Services,
Ltd., who decided to give an independent opinion as to whether
the aircraft could be economically repaired. It was obvious that
the salvage, if attempted, would be the most difficult task yet
undertaken by the company. At the time it was not possible to
survey the damage on the spot, and a decision had to be based
on the examination of a set of photographs of the wrecked machine.
A committee of Field's technicians, under Mr. R. W. Fox,
assistant general manager, then performed this examination,
making a thorough analysis of enlargements of the photographs.
It became fairly apparent that, at the time of impact, the starboard
undercarriage leg was semi-retracted, while the port leg was
locked in the "down" position. As a result, the port leg had been
thrust completely through the port inner mainplane and, in
addition, a large part of the underside fuselage structure had been
During repair at bir Hassen, wings were removed and (left) fuselage
stringers and frames replaced. (Right) With fuselage skinning complete,
final assembly begins.
Before and after treatment: (top) Misrair's Viking JB after the Lebanon
accident in August, 1951. (Bottom) The same aircraft, re-registered.
ready to take-off after repair by Field Aircraft Services.
broken up and torn away in the ground-slide following the initial
impact.
The fuselage damage was most extensive, lower sections of the
majority of main frames being fractured or distorted. Further
damage extended through the freight floor, fracturing pipelines
and electrical services. Penetration by the undercarriage leg
had rendered the port inner mainplane unserviceable, and bod)
engine nacelles had also been structurally damaged.
It was, nevertheless, decided to salvage. The next problem was
whether to dismantle the machine, ship it to England and there
repair it, or to take the repair party 2,000 miles to the site of the
crash. It was by then possible to send an aircraft surveyor to
Beirut, and, based on the full survey report which he transmitted
to the company's Croydon headquarters, the decision was made
to repair the damage on the site.
The firm's representative in the Lebanon was instructed to
arrange for the movement of the wrecked aircraft from the edge
of the desert to Khalde Airport, and the transport operation was
duly completed. Unfortunately, however, there was no available
accommodation at Khalde, where the airport buildings were still
under construction, and so alternative arrangements had to be made.
With the help of the airline company Air Liban, and the
Lebanese Ministry of Civil Aviation, hangar space was found
at the near-derelict airport at Bir Hassen, where the machine,
with engines removed, was taken by local transport. It was
housed, supported on 40-gallon oil barrels, in the hangar, and a
security guard provided while detailed plans of operation were
discussed.
These discussions included the selection of trade specialists,
spare parts, raw materials, equipment and tools. The two last-
named were finally shipped from England, for the Lebanese
authorities possessed no equipment suitable for the job. Vickers-
Armstrongs, Ltd., and other manufacturers were approached for
spares and raw materials, and co-operated readily. The working
party who were to carry out the repair consisted of highly skilled
specialists, including hydraulic, radio, electrical and engine-
installation technicians and metal workers. Groups successively
arrived in Beirut in phase with the stages of operation, and were
progressively withdrawn on completion of their particular jobs.
Concurrently with the repair work going on under relatively
primitive conditions in the hangar at Bir Hassen, problems of
organization were being dealt with in Beirut. Customs clearance
for spares, reliable transport arrangements, and permission to fly
the repaired aircraft from the badly surfaced runway were required.
After a month's work on the aircraft it was possible to give a
provisional completion date to the Lebanese authorities, who
thereupon gave permission for one take-off—the landing to be
made at JChalde.
On June 20th, 1952, the completed aircraft, now owned by
Fields under the registration G-AMNK, took off from the Bir
Hassen runway and made a successful flight of some thirty
minutes, with Capt. Keeling, of the associated company, Hunting
Air Transport, Ltd., at the controls. The performance was
perfectly satisfactory, and Capt. Keeling decided to begin the
flight back to the United Kingdom on the following day. This
flight was accomplished without incident.
Thus ended this unusual and successful salvage story, which
began some 2,000 miles from the salvage company's main base.
The story reflects great credit on the firm for attempting, and
successfully completing, this most difficult task, and emphasizes
the specialized skill of the technicians involved. Since the repair,
Viking G-AMNK has been performing good work for Hunting
Air Transport, operating for some 700 hours on the London-
Malta-Nairobi and London-Gibraltar routes.